Cornwall's first railways were built to carry copper ore down to the sea and coal back up, and the Portreath branch of the Hayle Railway was one of the busiest. It opened in 1837, joining the mines around Redruth to the small harbour at Portreath on the north coast, where ore was loaded onto ships bound for the smelters of south Wales, and coal came in to feed the pumping engines. A tramroad had already done the same job here since the early nineteenth century, and the railway replaced it with steam power and heavier loads.
The line is now a path, part of the Great Flat Lode and Coast-to-Coast trails, and one of the elements of the Cornish Mining Landscape that UNESCO listed in 2006. Walking or cycling it, you pass engine houses, spoil heaps, old stamps and the dips and cuttings where the track ran, all slowly being reclaimed by gorse and bracken. Some of the engine houses look like small churches, tall granite chimneys beside roofless sheds with big arched openings where the great beam engines once stood. The whole landscape is scattered with them, and it is the sheer number that sinks in.
Portreath itself is a pretty little place, a steep-sided cove with a harbour, a beach and a surf school, and a row of cottages tumbling down the hill. The sea can be rough here, and storms throw spray over the harbour wall. The coast to the west and east is cliffs, caves and rocky coves where seals haul out in autumn.
The roads in this part of Cornwall are narrow, bending and frequently bordered by high banks and hedges, so visibility is short and you should be ready to meet a tractor around every corner. The B3300 coast road is the best, with sea views and a mix of tight and open bends, but it gets crowded on summer weekends, when visitors fill every parking space. Early morning or late afternoon is better. Spring is bright and often breezy, and winter gales can be wild.
Redruth, two and a half kilometres away, has forty thousand people and offers fuel, supermarkets and cafés. A Cornish pasty from a village bakery is the traditional rider's lunch.